Dining Out: Cafe 401 a fast stop Downtown

Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 at 4:07 PM

Phil Luciano Journal Star columnist @lucianophil

PEORIA — Cafe 401 offers fast food that isn’t fast food.

You know what I mean by the latter: burgers and gunk churned out by the greasy masses. Even alternative fast food, like the ubiquitous sandwich chains, get a wee drab in their changeless (and often tasteless) offerings.

But Cafe 401 isn’t just speedy: the revamped bill of fare is anything but mundane. Amid the flatbreads, wraps and sandwiches, the menu pops with ingredients like basil pesto, caramelized onions and artichoke hearts. You can go the conventional route — in fact, you can even order a peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread — but sometimes it’s nice to put a little zing into your lunch.

You can also get breakfast, but no dinner, and only weekdays. But with the Warehouse District expanding, maybe that will change.

Cafe 401 sits in the first floor of the 401 Water building, not far from the riverfront. It’s just a storefront, yet with a lightly bouncing vibe. The music was Jack Johnson-esque, pleasant like cotton candy. Amid the exposed brick ceiling, you can glimpse cars and pedestrians meandering by, a peaceful yet urban scenescape.

Cafe 401 is an efficient counter operation: place your order, take a seat, then pick it up minutes later. On our visit, despite a steady stream of patrons, the line never backed up much. Meanwhile, the staffers are lively and smiley — no slack-jawed teens here — and quick with suggestions and quips. They make you feel glad you stopped by to sample their goodies.

I went with a friend, Phil. The Other Phil went with the shepherd’s pie (the daily special, $5.95), a satisfying stew-like melding of roasted pork, onion, carrots and other goodies. On the side: a heaping pile of pasta salad that had a tang akin to balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, This Phil went with the Man Handler ($6.75), mostly because I thought it would be weird fun to order that out loud. The panini (I chose sourdough) was jammed with roast beef, turkey, bacon, ham, provolone, cheddar, mayo and lettuce —a hefty combo sure to please even Dagwood Bumstead. On the side, I chose the potato salad, which involved big skin-on taters and a zippy, light mayo mix. Perfect.